49ers select Florida WR Ricky Pearsall with No. 31 overall pick in 2024 NFL Draft
The San Francisco 49ers have made their first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, selecting Ricky Pearsall a wide receiver out of Florida. Pearsall was a senior with the Gators, who finished with a5-7 record in 2023.
The draft featured a run of offensive players early in the draft, as the first 14 picks were on that side of the ball, led by the Chicago Bears taking former USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall selection. The first defender off the board was taken by the Indianapolis Colts at No. 15 overall with the choice of UCLA EDGE rusher Laiatu Latu.
Pearsall played five seasons at the collegiate level, starting out at Arizona State, where he played two full seasons as a freshman and junior, while missing most of his sophomore year. He finished his time at ASU with 61 catches for 794 yards and five touchdowns.
He transfered to Florida in 2022 and played two seasons with the Gators, pulling down 98 receptions for 1626 yards and nine touchdowns.
The former Gator measures in at 6-foot-1, 189 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds with a 10-yard split at 1.57 seconds. His athleticism score, per NextGenStats, was an 85, good for eighth in the class.
He also has some experience returning punts, albeit minimal, with just 15 returns for 153 yards during his time at Florida, but it's something he has shown the ability to do if the 49ers are interested in that part of his game.
Pearsall enters a 49ers reciever group that includes Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel, and Jauan Jennings along with a few young guys like Danny Gray and Ronnie Bell who have yet to hit in their time in the NFL.
With Aiyuk's long term future still in question, Samuel's contract nearing a point where the 49ers can get out of it as soon as next year, and Jennings only on a one-year deal in 2024, adding to that group makes a lot of sense, even if Pearsall wasn't among the receivers mentioned as first round options during much of the pre-draft cycle.
The 49ers still have plenty of work to do with nine draft picks left over the next two days, but for now, pick No. 31 is in and Ricky Pearsall is a 49er.